Nikon d70s CHA error

JohnBouy · September 27, 2010

I am new to this site. I have had this issue on more than one occasion and to me, once is too many. I was using a Nikon d 70s with a SanDisk Ultra II 8gb. Card. After about 130 pics I got the CHA error, tried turning the camera off then on the error cleared but when I went to view the pics I took it said there were none on the card. When this happen the last time the camera put the pics in a DCIM folder that I could see on the computer and was able to retrieve the pics that way. This time, unfortunately I wasn't so lucky. This isn't GOOD... when I take pictures I take them because I want to PRESERVE the MOMENT..... these were pics of our grandchildren a special event, so that would make it something that can't be DONE AGAIN....like a sitting or a table top. It hurt..<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p>
I really appreciate the forum because it let me know I wasn't alone out here and others were having the same issue. Also that it wasn't particular to just me, being as I am relatively new to this and just recently lost my mentor and BEST and ONLY SOURCE for anything I needed to know on the subject of photography. It also let me know of the others reasoning and what they thought the cause might be.<o:p></o:p>
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What I did try is, in the comfort of my computer room, I snapped off about 200 pics in about 10 minutes, I would delete them on the camera and then shoot some more. Delete again, shoot some. Format in the camera (as I was told to do from day one) Shoot some more and delete again. Even after doing this for about an hour and utilizing a SanDisk 512 mb card also and I could not recreate the CHA ERROR. I have a thought to put out there if anyone is listening , I seem to remember that the couple of times this happened that the air temperature was cool (below 65 degrees Fahrenheit) Just a thought…… I hope someone can help solve this one, its really hard to deal with....Thanks for allowing me to bend your EARS..<?xml:namespace prefix = v ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" /><v:shapetype id=_x0000_t75 stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"> :barb<v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><v:path o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></v:path><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><o:p></o:p>

ziggy53 · September 27, 2010

It appears that a Nikon D70/D70s CHA error is a general "cannot write to card" error and can be caused by many different situations including:

1) CF card fault/failure
2) CF card fragmentation
3) CF connection, camera contacts
4) Camera internal failure with card write circuit board
5) Power supply in camera, potentially also related to the battery.

To rule out the Compact Flash card(s) as the fault, try a brand new card (not Lexar 80x, as those seem problematic), format in camera and do not field erase images. Reformat card in camera to start over. If this procedure works, format the older cards in the camera and then work the cards by taking images, preferably RAW to fill up the card as quickly as possible. Do not completely fill the card but stop at around 10 remaining images and format the card in camera once more. You might be good to go.

If these procedures don't work, it is recommended to return the camera to Nikon for a checkup. If Nikon cannot diagnose a problem, you might try a new battery as some claim a weak battery to be part of the problem, but I don't see that "cure" mentioned often enough to know if really is a cure or not.

Repairs for an out-of-warranty repair for the problem relating to the camera seem to run around $300USD from those few folks who reported a cost.

JohnBouy · September 27, 2010

ziggy53 wrote: »

It appears that a Nikon D70/D70s CHA error is a general "cannot write to card" error and can be caused by many different situations including:

1) CF card fault/failure
2) CF card fragmentation
3) CF connection, camera contacts
4) Camera internal failure with card write circuit board
5) Power supply in camera, potentially also related to the battery.

To rule out the Compact Flash card(s) as the fault, try a brand new card (not Lexar 80x, as those seem problematic), format in camera and do not field erase images. Reformat card in camera to start over. If this procedure works, format the older cards in the camera and then work the cards by taking images, preferably RAW to fill up the card as quickly as possible. Do not completely fill the card but stop at around 10 remaining images and format the card in camera once more. You might be good to go.

If these procedures don't work, it is recommended to return the camera to Nikon for a checkup. If Nikon cannot diagnose a problem, you might try a new battery as some claim a weak battery to be part of the problem, but I don't see that "cure" mentioned often enough to know if really is a cure or not.

Repairs for an out-of-warranty repair for the problem relating to the camera seem to run around $300USD from those few folks who reported a cost.

Thanks for the input....

basflt · September 27, 2010

i had this too
with me it was after i formatted the [SD-card] in windows
that is not necessary
cards dont need formatting ,deleting files is enough
if you want to format , do it in camera
camera's write a bit different then computers

JohnBouy · September 27, 2010

basflt wrote: »

i had this too
with me it was after i formatted the [SD-card] in windows
that is not necessary
cards dont need formatting ,deleting files is enough
if you want to format , do it in camera
camera's write a bit different then computers

Thanks , I understand, which is why all I do on the computer is upload the pics and then eject the card, even before I start to edit them just in case its still reading from the card and not the folder in Acdsee. If you read what I did, I tried to duplicate the issue by deleting them on the camera, which some that might make the issue occur but it didn't. I still think it may have something to do with the outside temperature. That I can kind of live with and maybe find a way around. The pics I lost yesterday were kind of really special and I can't duplicate them. I am going to try and get online with someone at Nikon and hopefully get some kind of direction as to a way to resolve this. Will post later either way.

Matthew Saville · September 27, 2010

JohnBouy wrote: »

I am new to this site. I have had this issue on more than one occasion and to me, once is too many. I was using a Nikon d 70s with a SanDisk Ultra II 8gb. Card. After about 130 pics I got the CHA error, tried turning the camera off then on the error cleared but when I went to view the pics I took it said there were none on the card. When this happen the last time the camera put the pics in a DCIM folder that I could see on the computer and was able to retrieve the pics that way. This time, unfortunately I wasn't so lucky. This isn't GOOD... when I take pictures I take them because I want to PRESERVE the MOMENT..... these were pics of our grandchildren a special event, so that would make it something that can't be DONE AGAIN....like a sitting or a table top. It hurt..<o:p></o:p>
I really appreciate the forum because it let me know I wasn't alone out here and others were having the same issue. Also that it wasn't particular to just me, being as I am relatively new to this and just recently lost my mentor and BEST and ONLY SOURCE for anything I needed to know on the subject of photography. It also let me know of the others reasoning and what they thought the cause might be.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
What I did try is, in the comfort of my computer room, I snapped off about 200 pics in about 10 minutes, I would delete them on the camera and then shoot some more. Delete again, shoot some. Format in the camera (as I was told to do from day one) Shoot some more and delete again. Even after doing this for about an hour and utilizing a SanDisk 512 mb card also and I could not recreate the CHA ERROR. I have a thought to put out there if anyone is listening , I seem to remember that the couple of times this happened that the air temperature was cool (below 65 degrees Fahrenheit) Just a thought…… I hope someone can help solve this one, its really hard to deal with....Thanks for allowing me to bend your EARS..<v:shapetype id="_x0000_t75" stroked="f" filled="f" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" coordsize="21600,21600"> <img src="https://us.v-cdn.net/6029383/emoji/wings.gif" border="0" alt="" ><v:stroke joinstyle="miter"></v:stroke><v:formulas><v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"></v:f><v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"></v:f><v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></v:f></v:formulas><v:path o:connecttype="rect" gradientshapeok="t" o:extrusionok="f"></v:path><o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></o:lock></v:shapetype><o:p></o:p>

Been there, done that. I remember my D70 giving me this issue.

The first thing is this- unfortunately, the 8 GB Sandisk Ultra II cards are probably the #1 faked cards out there, so I have to ask- where did you buy the card? Have you run a recovery program on the card to see if it is actually 8 GB? Sometimes fake cards are actually 2 GB or 4 GB and the sticker only says 8 GB. (Also, how many pictures, in RAW, does the camera say it can hold?)

The second thing is this- The D70 and older memory cards need to be well cared for when it comes to data safety. Format cards EVERY time they are inserted in the camera, and yes that means you can NOT leave images on the card over long periods of time. It is not good for data integrity to have the camera keep track of which images have been deleted and which have not, for a long time. That is a great way to get a corrupt image, and when the D70 corrupts just one image it can tend to freak out and give you the CHA error. Towards the end of my own D70's life, I was getting the CHA error pretty regularly, with any of my cards and yes the Lexar 80x was one of the problem cards.

So if the camera is super old, or if the memory cards are super old, (or fake) ...or if the camera and cards are forced to keep track of certain images over long periods of time, then you WILL get errors. Hopefully, this is a relatively good condition D70, and you can use other memory cards in the future...

If the partcular images you've lost are VERY important, try running a recovery program. I use Photorescue "expert", which you can find at www.datarescue.com

If the card isn't fake, then you should be able to get your images back. If the card IS fake, unfortunately, the images could be truly gone...

Take care,
=Matt=

JohnBouy · September 27, 2010

thanks for your input...

Matthew Saville wrote: »

Been there, done that. I remember my D70 giving me this issue.

The first thing is this- unfortunately, the 8 GB Sandisk Ultra II cards are probably the #1 faked cards out there, so I have to ask- where did you buy the card? Have you run a recovery program on the card to see if it is actually 8 GB? Sometimes fake cards are actually 2 GB or 4 GB and the sticker only says 8 GB. (Also, how many pictures, in RAW, does the camera say it can hold?)

The second thing is this- The D70 and older memory cards need to be well cared for when it comes to data safety. Format cards EVERY time they are inserted in the camera, and yes that means you can NOT leave images on the card over long periods of time. It is not good for data integrity to have the camera keep track of which images have been deleted and which have not, for a long time. That is a great way to get a corrupt image, and when the D70 corrupts just one image it can tend to freak out and give you the CHA error. Towards the end of my own D70's life, I was getting the CHA error pretty regularly, with any of my cards and yes the Lexar 80x was one of the problem cards.

So if the camera is super old, or if the memory cards are super old, (or fake) ...or if the camera and cards are forced to keep track of certain images over long periods of time, then you WILL get errors. Hopefully, this is a relatively good condition D70, and you can use other memory cards in the future...

If the partcular images you've lost are VERY important, try running a recovery program. I use Photorescue "expert", which you can find at www.datarescue.com

If the card isn't fake, then you should be able to get your images back. If the card IS fake, unfortunately, the images could be truly gone...

Take care,
=Matt=

I believe the card is about a year old and a true SanDisk 8 gb it came from a reputable dealer. I will try to attach the screen shot of what the computer reads it as. In RAW it says it can do 1.4 (I am assuming that means almost 1500). I also did the testing with a SanDisk 512 Mb. Card which is also less than two years old but that was when I couldn’t duplicate the problem. The Nikon d 70s is a little over three years old and I hope not quite at the end of its life, being out of work since June I can’t get a replacement and it is a very LARGE part of my life. My mentor and only teacher for all my photo needs just passed away, it will be a year October 9<SUP>th</SUP>. My brother was doing photography since he was 12 , he would have been 69 on September 19<SUP>th</SUP>, you can see a lot of his beautiful work on www.renderosity.com , his user name was Chimeric_Imager. He always told me always to format in the camera before every shoot and never, never touch the images on the card except to upload and eject the card. He was also under the notion like some of the people on the forum , that is wasn’t even a good practice to delete from the camera, seeing as there was always enough extra room on the card , that the pictures could just as easily be dumped after they were uploaded. But, with the testing I did, deleting them on the camera didn’t seem to manifest the error so I don’t think that matters. Like I said on the site, I think it may have some thing to do with the outside temperature but I hope to get an answer to that from the Nikon People. I will post what I get but I really do appreciate all the input I have gotten on this so far. Thank You Johnbouy.

JohnBouy · September 27, 2010

Sorry Matt here is the attachment
On second thought the files are to bid=g to send this way. If you need the screen shoots of how the computer sees the card get me an email address to johnjpaul@yahoo.com and I will send them along....thanks again

Matthew Saville · September 27, 2010

JohnBouy wrote: »

On second thought the files are to bid=g to send this way. If you need the screen shoots of how the computer sees the card get me an email address to johnjpaul@yahoo.com and I will send them along....thanks again

No need, from what you're saying it sounds like the card is simply a lemon. Fortunately, if it is a legit card and not a fake then you might be able to get the images back with a recovery program. Assuming you haven't shot new images on the card, over-writing the old ones. Run a recovery program, then replace the card. Preferably with something current, quality, with a lifetime warranty.

=Matt=

JohnBouy · September 27, 2010

Matthew Saville wrote: »

No need, from what you're saying it sounds like the card is simply a lemon. Fortunately, if it is a legit card and not a fake then you might be able to get the images back with a recovery program. Assuming you haven't shot new images on the card, over-writing the old ones. Run a recovery program, then replace the card. Preferably with something current, quality, with a lifetime warranty.

=Matt=

Thanks, unfortunately those pics are gone but will keep your suggestion in mind in case it happens again...hope I won't have to though

Matthew Saville · September 28, 2010

JohnBouy wrote: »

Thanks, unfortunately those pics are gone but will keep your suggestion in mind in case it happens again...hope I won't have to though

Again- the pictures are never gone, unless the card was truly and very seriously defective, such as a fake. Otherwise you should be able to easily recover the images off the card using either a cheap off the shelf recovery program, or if necessary a high-end recovery service such as Drive Savers.

I don't mean to sound argumentative, I just wish to make sure you realize there are always options...

=Matt=

JohnBouy · September 28, 2010

richy wrote: »

How old is the card?

The memory used in the cards does wear out over time. Some cards may have controllers that evenly distribute the wear but I tend to stop using cards after about 18 months and replace them all. Costco usually has cheap sandisks which I have faith is as likely to be genuine as from any other retailer. There could be one small area of the memory which is defective but because the cards space isnt used in a strictly A to Z manner it might not pop up often. Using raw + jpg should fill the card up quicker than just jpg so maybe try this route to 'aggrevate' the problem.

For what its worth I always format in camera before a shoot. This gives me the most amount of time to realise I need the images off the cards if they didnt copy right onto the computer. the formatting in camera is like arguing religion or politics or cars. At the end of the day if something doesnt let you down, stick to it, for me my system works. Formatting in camera is generally advised as on the computer there are a few variables that can be changed i.e. FAT vs NTFS and sector size whereas the camera just does it.

From what you have said, shooting maybe 200 images on a card that takes 14-1500 images, there is a fair chance the images you originally took are still on there, even if you reformatted and took more images on the card, why, because formatting doesnt delete the files, it just deletes the index of the files and clever software can get around that, and cards fill up in a funny way. Think of a diner with 10 booths, booth 1 and 2 are busy, then the person leaves booth 1 and another person comes in, they dont get put in booth 1, they get put in booth 3. The dirty plates (or your files) may still be in booth 1, or at least some of them. Its a pathetic analogy really but I'm tired! There is free decent data recovery software out there so you have virtually nothing to lose. I would suggest a new card as a starting point as you can get something decent for $20. As I said I dump mine in a drawer every 12-24 months depending on how busy I have been and only bring them out for vacations when I want buckets of space.

There is always a chance it is an issue with the camera, I do hope it isn't. Canon offer a loyalty scheme where if your camera dies out of warranty you can get a hefty discount on a refurbished camera from them, I am not sure if nikon does the same but it may ease the pain. Take care and this forum is a great place for information, I hope you decide to stick around and share your work

Thank you bothMatt and Richy, I really appreciate all your input on this issue and I will, as you suggested, try to recover the files as I said they were very special. I will let you know how it turned out and thank you again.

JohnBouy · September 28, 2010

richy wrote: »

You're very welcome, I have two little kids myself and I know how important those pictures are. There is one piece of free software I found which was pretty good, I will try find it when I get home (on my phone right now). Basically rather than constantly using the card which may worsen the situation it takes an image of the entire card then works off this image, so if the card is 'on its last legs' it only needs to last one more full read. The image files can then be checked and rechecked without risking further degredation.
Having said that it sounds like its an isolated error in a small area of the card so any decent software should do. Once you are done, if you find out the card is duff it would be interesting to see if sandisk would replace it under warranty. They are pretty durable but some of them do fail within a normal lifespan (maybe 3 years) but many are replaced before that due to people upgrading cameras.
Best of luck and fingers crossed!
Oh and www.download.com is a decent place to start looking for free recovery software.

I was able to use RecoverMyFiles to get at least half of the pics from the shoot. I was amazed at how many pics were still accessable on the card, even ones from 6 months ago . Just to be sure, I am running another slow search on it to see if I can get the last 60 pics I missed....will let you know...but half is always better than none... Happy Snapping:ivar

yupman · December 26, 2010

I also have a D70 that is having CHA problems.
I have a bunch of cards of different sizes brands and capacities.
I can only use Lexar 4x 256mb cards
I tried kodak 512mb, Sandisk 256mb, ultra II 1gb, 2gb and 4gb.
I have at least two of each of the cards mentioned and they all work in my D100 without problems. I also tried using batteries from my d100 and from my D90.
Anyone have any ideas.

Has anyone tried openning it up and cleaning the contacts or is there a way to do it without major surgery on the camera?

Thanks...

yupman · December 26, 2010

ONe more thing I forgot to add. I just upgraded the firmware and that did not make a diff

takinmore · December 29, 2010

CHA error
I used to get numerous CHA errors on my D70s. It is about 5 years old and started doing it last year. I would have to reseat it each time to get it working again. Then, on a trip to Zurich, I lost an entire mornings pictures, they were all partally procesed with banding throughout. Since I was going to 5 weddings in 2010 (best friend's kids growing up) I took it to Nikon for service. It took a couple weeks and they gave it back all nice and clean - so far with no more CHA errors. Cost me about $150

I found that as all above have mentioned, it is likely numerous things that can cause it - from crappy cards, to not formatting in camera, to bad contacts.

Buy decent cards, format each time and if it continues send the camera to Nikon.

Nikon d70s CHA error

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